Monday, December 31, 2012

Top 10 Amazing Things of 2012
10. Riding in a B-24 Liberator bomber from WWII and meeting a veteran from my grandfather's squadron
9. Flying an airplane
8. Spinning and sliding in the dirt at rally car school
7. Attending my first Summer Olympics
6. Starting the new year in Bali
5. Moving closer to D.C. in a neighborhood rich with history where I can walk in the footsteps of George Washington
4. Finishing the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco
3. Rowing again as part of a crew team, even if just one time this year (more often next year), just like in college
2. After 17 years of dreaming about it, I finally drove an indy car and got it up to nearly 170 MPH

and...the most amazing thing in 2012 and one of the top 10 amazing things in my life (especially as a lifelong Beatles fan):

#1. I met, held a (brief) conversation with, and shook the hand of PAUL McCARTNEY!!!

Best and Worst

This has been an interesting year of new things I've tried or places I've visited. Here are my best and worsts of living, learning, and exploring in 2012:

Best LEARN: Driving an indy car (mentioning it again) was just absolutely the thrill of a lifetimeWorst LEARN:Cooking with Biz Markie - an interesting combo, but a waste of money

Best EXPLORE: Even though I was sick for most of the time, I still really enjoyed BaliWorst EXPLORE: Austin for the Formula 1 Grand Prix had to have been one of my worst travel experiences ever!

Other favorites from the year...

Best New TV Show: For drama, I pick Newsroom on HBO by Aaron Sorkin, and for comedy I love The Mindy Show on FOX. (Honorable Mention: since it's new to me, Downton Abbey)Worst New TV Show: Awake on NBC with the guy who played Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter - I just couldn't get into it.

Best Book I Read: Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (check her out at www.thebloggess.com)...laugh out loud funny!Worst Book I Read: It's a tie between A Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling (hated it from the start and skimmed most of it to see if/when it would change...never did...write another Harry Potter book!) and The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens

Best Movie I Saw: James Bond - Skyfall....if you haven't seen it yet, there are so many good spoilers and I like the new Q!Worst Movie I Saw: The first thing that pops into my mind is Magic Mike.

Best Music: We Are Young by Fun, just because it's one you can belt out in the car when no one is listening and feel better.Worst Music: Gangnam Style...unless performed by the cadets at West Point or midshipmen at the Naval Academy (search on YouTube for it!)